The Steelers will play their home opener in Week 2 against the Seahawks, giving DK Metcalf the chance to face his former team early in the season.
This isn't the first time the Steelers hosted the Seahawks for their home opener. They did so in 2019, which was the game Ben Roethlisberger suffered his arm injury that knocked him out for the season. The Seahawks won, 28-26, and Metcalf caught three passes for 61 yards and a touchdown.
This will mark the 10th time in 11 seasons the Steelers have opened their season on the road. The 2025 season opener will be on the road against the Jets, which plays into the NFL's love for creating revenge games early in the season. Not only would Justin Fields be facing his most recent former team, but if and when Aaron Rodgers signs with the Steelers, he'll be doing the same. And, in his appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers slammed the Jets for the way he was released.
Last year, the Steelers opened the season against the Falcons, which was a revenge game for Arthur Smith after being the head coach in Atlanta for the previous three seasons. In Week 2, the Steelers traveled to Denver to take on the Broncos, which was Russell Wilson's former team the prior two seasons. However, Wilson didn't get the chance to play that game due to a preseason calf injury.
The full Steelers' 2025 regular season schedule:
DKPS
As for the rest of the schedule, the slate of games is certainly more spread out than it was in 2024 when the Steelers had all six of their AFC North games over the final eight weeks of the season. This year, the Steelers' first AFC North game is in Week 6 at home against the Browns, and those division games spread all the way until the final week of the season when the Ravens come to Pittsburgh.
"I like to have them a little more spread out than what we had last year," Art Rooney II said on Steelers.com. "I thought last year was a little too much at the end of the season, and so I like the way the division games fall this year a little better."
While the division games are more spread out this year, the Steelers have a very early bye in Week 5. That comes with some expectation since the game in Dublin, Ireland is the week before. However, teams don't have to ask for the following week to be their bye week.
"Let's say this, we didn't ask for the bye after the Ireland game," Rooney said. "The league has in the past, kind of tended to try to give teams their bye following an international game. I don't think that's the rule anymore, but you know it's not a bad way to do it. It is a long trip, and so it doesn't hurt to have the bye coming after that."
The one thing about the Ireland game is when the Steelers might be heading over there. Last time the team played overseas, they arrived on Friday and a lot of the players never recovered from the ensuing jet lag.
"From our point of view, I don't think a lot has changed," Rooney said. "We're planning to leave probably similar to what we did for the last international trip. Probably leave on Thursday, practice there on Friday and Saturday, have the game on Sunday, then fly out Sunday night. I don't think it will be too much different from the last trip. It's been a long time since we've done it. So, we'll have to look into what other teams have been doing lately."
Over the final 13 games without a break in between, the Steelers will have a tough stretch in the latter months. Over the final six weeks of the season, they'll host the Bills, face the Ravens twice and travel to Detroit to take on the Lions, who went 15-2 last season. There are a couple of more manageable games, hosting the Dolphins in Week 15 and going on the road to take on the Browns in Week 17, making the December/January schedule much less daunting than last season.
After going through a very rough schedule in 2024, this year's schedule seems much less intimidating. In addition to the strength of the schedule being spread out, the team only has four scheduled prime time games, with just one on Thursday and one on Monday. All other games are scheduled for Sundays. And the two longest flights -- Dublin and Los Angeles -- are six weeks apart.
It's far too early to predict how the team will fare in 2025. However, the schedule doesn't seem to be an 18th opponent as it was in 2024. That, in and of itself, is a victory.
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Chris Halicke
5:39 pm - 05.14.2025South SideNFL schedule release: Less daunting, it appears
The Steelers will play their home opener in Week 2 against the Seahawks, giving DK Metcalf the chance to face his former team early in the season.
This isn't the first time the Steelers hosted the Seahawks for their home opener. They did so in 2019, which was the game Ben Roethlisberger suffered his arm injury that knocked him out for the season. The Seahawks won, 28-26, and Metcalf caught three passes for 61 yards and a touchdown.
This will mark the 10th time in 11 seasons the Steelers have opened their season on the road. The 2025 season opener will be on the road against the Jets, which plays into the NFL's love for creating revenge games early in the season. Not only would Justin Fields be facing his most recent former team, but if and when Aaron Rodgers signs with the Steelers, he'll be doing the same. And, in his appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers slammed the Jets for the way he was released.
Last year, the Steelers opened the season against the Falcons, which was a revenge game for Arthur Smith after being the head coach in Atlanta for the previous three seasons. In Week 2, the Steelers traveled to Denver to take on the Broncos, which was Russell Wilson's former team the prior two seasons. However, Wilson didn't get the chance to play that game due to a preseason calf injury.
The full Steelers' 2025 regular season schedule:
DKPS
As for the rest of the schedule, the slate of games is certainly more spread out than it was in 2024 when the Steelers had all six of their AFC North games over the final eight weeks of the season. This year, the Steelers' first AFC North game is in Week 6 at home against the Browns, and those division games spread all the way until the final week of the season when the Ravens come to Pittsburgh.
"I like to have them a little more spread out than what we had last year," Art Rooney II said on Steelers.com. "I thought last year was a little too much at the end of the season, and so I like the way the division games fall this year a little better."
While the division games are more spread out this year, the Steelers have a very early bye in Week 5. That comes with some expectation since the game in Dublin, Ireland is the week before. However, teams don't have to ask for the following week to be their bye week.
"Let's say this, we didn't ask for the bye after the Ireland game," Rooney said. "The league has in the past, kind of tended to try to give teams their bye following an international game. I don't think that's the rule anymore, but you know it's not a bad way to do it. It is a long trip, and so it doesn't hurt to have the bye coming after that."
The one thing about the Ireland game is when the Steelers might be heading over there. Last time the team played overseas, they arrived on Friday and a lot of the players never recovered from the ensuing jet lag.
"From our point of view, I don't think a lot has changed," Rooney said. "We're planning to leave probably similar to what we did for the last international trip. Probably leave on Thursday, practice there on Friday and Saturday, have the game on Sunday, then fly out Sunday night. I don't think it will be too much different from the last trip. It's been a long time since we've done it. So, we'll have to look into what other teams have been doing lately."
Over the final 13 games without a break in between, the Steelers will have a tough stretch in the latter months. Over the final six weeks of the season, they'll host the Bills, face the Ravens twice and travel to Detroit to take on the Lions, who went 15-2 last season. There are a couple of more manageable games, hosting the Dolphins in Week 15 and going on the road to take on the Browns in Week 17, making the December/January schedule much less daunting than last season.
After going through a very rough schedule in 2024, this year's schedule seems much less intimidating. In addition to the strength of the schedule being spread out, the team only has four scheduled prime time games, with just one on Thursday and one on Monday. All other games are scheduled for Sundays. And the two longest flights -- Dublin and Los Angeles -- are six weeks apart.
It's far too early to predict how the team will fare in 2025. However, the schedule doesn't seem to be an 18th opponent as it was in 2024. That, in and of itself, is a victory.
Want to participate in our comments?
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Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
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